The Cheshire Oaks store has been awarded full FSC project certification (TT-PRO-003615) under Simons Group (FSC-C106846). It is one of only a handful of retail buildings in the country to have met the strict FSC project criteria. Several subcontractors had to become FSC certified themselves specifically for the Cheshire Oaks project. Impressively, almost 100% of the timber delivered to site is FSC certified, sending a positive message to others that it is possible to place FSC at the heart of such large scale construction projects.

The award was presented by FSC UK Executive Director, Charles Thwaites MBE, to Richard Gillies, M&S Director of Plan A, CSR and Sustainable Business, at the store on 5th October. Also in attendance were Paul Hodgkinson CBE, Chairman of Simons Group and Ed Dixon, M&S Property Plan A Project Manager

Charles Thwaites said: “FSC logos have been prominent in M&S stores for many years now, featuring on garden furniture and greeting cards and even sandwich packaging and till receipts. Now M&S are moving beyond this by using FSC certified material in the construction of its stores. The certification of the new Cheshire Oaks store demonstrates the depth of their commitment to incorporate responsibly sourced FSC wood into every aspect of their work.”

Richard Gillies added: “We’re very proud of our long-standing work with the FSC and are honoured to have won this award. M&S Cheshire Oaks aims to build a strong bank of knowledge and experience in sustainable building practices, including the use of FSC timber in large-scale construction projects. We’re thrilled that we’ve been recognised for our efforts.”

Simons Group’s Sustainability Champion Rosi Fieldson has been ensuring the FSC standards were in place throughout construction & was thrilled to hear of the award: “Receiving this award is a real validation of the effort which our customer M&S are making to eliminate unsustainable timber from the retail sector of the construction industry. We are delighted to have been able to achieve Full FSC Project Certification (TT-PRO-003615, 2012). We couldn’t have done it without a massive team effort from our supply chain and team on site, particularly our Environmental Champion Ed Dixon who managed all the folders of delivery paperwork and tallied all the timber volumes for auditing.”